Hermione AUs
by hpjkrowling4ever
Summary: If you love all things Hermione, here is a collection of one-shots following prompts I find interesting about Hermione. It is updated when I come across an interesting prompt. If you have any, do let me know!
1. The Letter from the Sky

_A/N: __All of the one-shots in this collection pertain to 'The Ultimate Hermione Competition II'. If you love all things Hermione, please read on. The prompts will be at the start of each chapter._

 _Disclaimer:_ _None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

 **Title:** The Ultimate Hermione Competition II

 **Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Prompt: Hermione wakes up in her eleven-year-old body on the day she received her Hogwarts letter.

The Letter from the Sky

A beam of light struck the small eleven-year-old girl lying down in the bed, making her curl up tighter under her sheets in a futile effort to avoid the light. Hermione Granger groaned and rolled over in her bed, only to fall right off it. Almost immediately, her eyes flew open and her hand flew out to grab her wand, only for her to realise that there was no wand. Her mind caught up with her body and Hermione slowly sat up on the floor, feeling a bit dizzy.

The first thing she realised was that she was not in her bed. Well, that was perfectly obvious considering that she was on the floor, but it was not her normal room, nor was it her normal bed. Hermione knew this because her normal bed contained Ronald Weasley, her long-term boyfriend. Slowly, Hermione stood up.

The second thing that Hermione realised was that she was young. A lot younger, in fact. Gingerly, she touched her face and grimaced when she felt her long front teeth. Touching her rather untamable hair, Hermione had to chuckle at her luck. How in Merlin's name had she ended up in this situation? She looked around her childhood room, a wry smile gracing her face. Somehow, she had ended up eight years in the past, with all her adult memories intact - except for that elusive reason _why_ she was back in the past. Hermione wracked her brains fiercely - why, why, _why_ \- after all that horror and disaster that had been wrought by the Second Wizarding War, _why_ was she here? Hermione sat down on top of her bed, tapping her fingers in an absent tune on her knees as she tried to organise her thoughts. There had obviously been some very powerful magic involved, and a reason behind the magic. Hermione wasn't sure what the date was, but if the reason for her being in the past was to alter the future, then the only thing she could do was try and remember how she had acted when she was a pre-teen.

Hermione lay back down on her bed and had to giggle to herself about the situation she was now in. Bookshelf after bookshelf adorned the walls, filled with all of her childhood favourites: _Pride and Prejudice_ , _Treasure Island, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_ being some of them. She laughed, rather overcome with the sensation of being in her old bedroom, in her old body.

"Hermione?"

Hermione whipped around to face the door, a wide smile splitting her face when she heard her father's voice. She had yet to go to Australia to find her parents, too scared to find them and hear them voice the fact that they had no idea who she was. But this – this – this was more than she had ever imagined could ever happen to her in her entire life.

"Dad?" she asked and her father, Dr. Daniel Granger, stuck his head around the door.

"Well, my little birthday girl, it looks like you're awake already!" Daniel rushed over to his daughter and picked her up, rather overwhelming nineteen-year-old Hermione inside eleven-year-old Hermione's body. Her birthday? That must mean her Hogwarts letter. Deciding to go with this rollercoaster of powerful emotions, Hermione started laughing gleefully.

"Let me down, Dad!" she cried out when he father started tickling her.

"And what do I get in return?" her dad asked playfully, smiling. Hermione, hanging from her father's arms, pretended to think deeply.

"Can I kiss you?" she asked, rather hesitant, afraid that seeing her parents again was all a dream.

"Of course you can, sweetheart." Daniel put Hermione to the floor gently, knelt beside her, and she hugged him tightly around the neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He did not seem to think that there was anything amiss with Hermione's behaviour, and she remembered with a flash that she had always been quite a shy child, afraid of disappointing her parents in any way, shape or form.

"I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, bookworm." He whispered, stroking her hair. They stayed like that for long moments before Hermione's door opened once again and her mother stuck her head in, followed by the rest of her body. There was a disapproving look on her face.

"Dan, Hermione, what is this? I asked you to come up and wake your daughter, _not_ to distract her." The grin on Dr. Clara Granger's face belied her harsh words. Hermione giggled and broke away from her father.

"'Morning, Mum." She said cheerfully, pushing past her mother and running down the stairs. She paused at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, taking in everything once more. The kitchen table, the picture frames, everything. Hermione took a deep breath, and the feeling that overcame her was almost better than anything magical. She walked to the breakfast table and was about to sit down at what looked like her absolute favourite food in the world (crêpes with melted chocolate to go on top) when there was a light tapping at the window. Hermione whirled around and her parents, who had just got to the bottom of the stairs, rushed to the window.

"It's an owl!" her mother cried out, looking astonished. Dan looked around in confusion and picked up a broomstick. He opened the window a tiny bit and stuck the broomstick out of the door. The owl fluttered out of the way, letting out a mournful hoot. Hermione put her hand to her mouth, feeling rather sorry for the poor little bugger.

"Dad, it's got something attached to its leg!" she cried out, deciding that it was time to take action.

"So it has. Clara, open the window wider." Dan changed tactics completely and the Granger parents threw open the windows. The owl landed on the windowsill and looked at them rather balefully, as if resenting them for making its journey so undignified. Dan then rather reluctantly sidled up to the bird and stuck out his hand. The owl open and closed its beak with a snap, making Dan jump back. Clara sighed, and a remorseful look appeared on her husband's face.

"Can I try, Dad?" Hermione asked hesitantly. She saw her parents give each other a glance, but neither of them were any good at refusing Hermione on her birthday, and after a moment, Clara nodded. Hermione jumped up and walked confidently towards the owl, who held out its leg for her.

"Hey! I resent this treatment!" Dan exclaimed. Hermione heard her mother chuckle, and she let out a giggle, resigning herself to the fact that her voice was rather higher than what she was used to it being. She carefully untied the scroll from the owl's leg and slowly unrolled it.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Hermione did not look at the second page, and instead let the scroll fall to the ground, her face draining of blood. She had expected this, but it brought back so many memories.

* * *

 _Running full tilt into Harry's arms, laughter ringing out around them._

* * *

 _Throwing an arm around Harry and Ron's shoulders, a wide smile on her face, chuckling at the joke they'd played on Malfoy._

* * *

 _Feeling triumph and joy and pride when she looked into Umbridge's face and knew that she could blast the witch to pieces._

* * *

 _Kissing Ron underneath the mistletoe, and listening to Harry and Ginny laughing from the sofa behind them._

* * *

"Hermione, are you okay?" she felt her mother's arm wrap around her and she nodded numbly.

"It said I was a witch…" she said, her voice trailing off as she shook herself from the cloying memories. It was no use thinking of them now; they weren't any help to her in this situation. Her father bent down and picked up the scroll. His eyes scanned the elegant writing and he wordlessly passed it on to his wife, whose eyes widened fractionally as she read the letter. Hermione's mind was racing ahead, trying to work out how in the world she had time travelled eight years.

"Somehow, I don't think that this is a joke." Clara said. "It looks deathly serious."

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Clara? Have you even heard of such a place?" Dan asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. Hermione felt blood come back to her face and she stopped feeling so lightheaded.

"What happens if it's the truth, Mum?" Hermione asked, looking at her mother. She then looked at her father. "Dad? Am I a freak?" she asked nervously, remembering her fears from eight years ago.

"No! Never, darling, never." Dan dropped the scroll again and wrapped his daughter in his arms, squeezing her tightly. "We love you, darling, so, so much."

Clara nodded and kissed her daughter's cheek softly. Hermione smiled faintly and was rewarded with a smile in return.

"What do we say to this letter, though?" Dan asked. "I mean, I'm not accepting anything until I actually know what the majority of this actually _means_."

Hermione felt her mind jumping ahead, twisting and turning down impossible routes. The adrenaline rushed through her, and she smiled brightly, loving this feeling. The last time she'd had it had been with Ron and Harry, being chased by Ginny and Neville and Luna in a game in the woods near the Burrow, but now, Merlin –

"Well, we're going up to Waterstones later today to buy some books, right?" Hermione asked, pouting at her father. He caved immediately.

"Of course, sweetheart."

"Well, it says we need to buy some uniform and stuff…so I assume that's in London." Hermione frowned, trying to remember the letter. Dan picked it up off the floor and read through the second page.

"It doesn't say where…" he trailed off, looking intently at the page. The owl hooted and Hermione glanced at it at the same time as her mother did.

"Why don't we send a letter by this…owl…to whoever sent _us_ this letter?" Clara asked. Dan beamed at his wife and kissed her chastely on the lips.

"This is going to be an adventure, Hermione!" he cried out, twirling his daughter in his arms.

Upstairs, in Hermione's bedroom, piece of paper which had previously been lying on top of her pillow, fluttered to the floor. The writing, elegant and sophisticated, read: _"Do the dead justice."_

* * *

 _A/N: __I hope that this is good enough!_


	2. Black, Gold and Hidden Strength

_Disclaimer:_ _None of my work belongs to me, it is solely the property of the one and only J.K. Rowling and any other company which has the copyright of Harry Potter, including Warner Bros. Nothing here belongs to me; all the characters are J.K. Rowling's originally, though any new character not part of the Harry Potter series belongs to me._

* * *

 **Title:** The Ultimate Hermione Competition II

 **Author:** hpjkrowling4ever

Prompt: Hufflepuff! Hermione

Black, Gold and Hidden Strength

Hermione Jean Granger did not get scared, as a rule. She had held on tight when she was bullied; she had held on even tighter when she had broken her arm falling off a swing. This, however, was beyond anything she could ever have imagined, even in her wildest dreams – and they were pretty wild.

The ceiling of the Great Hall stretched out for what seemed like miles, and the stars gleamed brightly, winking at Hermione as if she was privy to some wonderful secret. The four house tables were completely silent except for a few murmurs, and all eyes were on the advancing first years. Hermione could almost feel the weight of their stares pressing down on her, and she hunched her shoulders and bit her lip. Beside her, the boy called Neville Longbottom nudged her shoulder briefly. Surprised by this show of kindness, Hermione gave a wan smile which he returned.

In theory, Hermione knew about all the houses. Gryffindor for the brave; Ravenclaw for the wise; Hufflepuff for the loyal; Slytherin for the sly. When she had looked at herself in the mirror at home, though, the only thing that Hermione Jean Granger had seen was herself: bushy hair, over-large teeth and bright brown eyes. At that moment, looking at the small singing hat, Hermione was indeed terrified.

The rather austere professor who had called herself Professor McGonagall unrolled a scroll and started reading names off it. Hermione watched as the hat Sorted the students ahead of her in the alphabet, and though she was shaking, her mind wondered how the hat was doing it.

"Granger, Hermione!" Professor McGonagall called, and Hermione's breath hitched in her throat. She scrambled up to the stool and sat on it nervously.

" _Hello, young one,_ "a calm, deep voice spoke in Hermione's mind and she started a bit. _You're a fascinating study._ " _Where do you think you should go?_ "

 _I thought that was your job._ Hermione answered, and felt the hat's amusement in return.

" _You're well suited to Ravenclaw, but you don't want the isolation that the search to be wise brings._ "

Hermione remembered her mother's advice. _I'm clever and I know I am, Sorting Hat. Please put me somewhere where I can be happy. It's what I want the most of all._

" _You want a family here._ "

 _I want_ _friends_ _here._ Hermione tried to emphasise her desperation for love, for acceptance, for people to back her and be there for her and take time to know her. She didn't want the isolation that her cleverness wrought; she didn't want to shut herself up and never ask for help because she felt that she was competing against everyone. She just wanted to have somewhere to be her home away from home.

" _I think, Miss Granger, you will be well suited to HUFFLEPUFF!_ " the hat shouted, and Hermione placed the hat back on the stool and rushed over to the Hufflepuff table, who were all on their feet for her.

She slipped in next to a first-year girl she remembered was Sorted just before her. The girl smiled brightly at her and shook her hand.

"I'm Hannah Abbott." She said. Hermione smiled shyly, unsure of how to act in a situation like this.

"Erm…I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger." She replied tentatively, and was rewarded with another beaming smile.

Across from Hermione, a red headed girl smiled and leant over the table to shake Hermione's hand.

"I'm Susan Bones. I guess you're Muggleborn? The Hat took a while to Sort you." She said, moving seamlessly onto the topic of their families. A curly blond-haired boy next to Susan, who also seemed to be a first year, looked at her carefully.

"Is it a bad thing to be a Muggleborn?" he asked.

"Not in my mind, it's not. My aunt's head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she doesn't mind." Somehow, the fact that Susan's aunt was very important and believed that there was no problem with Muggleborns alleviated all of the first years' fears.

A stout-looking boy with blondish hair slipped onto the bench next to Hermione, who jumped.

"Hi, I'm Ernest Macmillan, but please do call me Ernie." The boy said rather pompously. Across from Hermione, Susan hid a smile but stretched out her hand to shake his anyway.

Another girl Hermione hadn't noticed, sitting beside Hannah, leant across and smiled.

"I'm Megan Jones." She said rather timidly, going a bit pink. "Nice to meet you too."

"I'm Wayne Hopkins." Another boy Hermione hadn't quite noticed spoke up. He sat next to the other Muggleborn boy.

"I didn't introduce myself, I'm so sorry, I'm Justin Finch-Fletchey and I'm a Muggleborn. I was going to go to Eton but then decided to go Hogwarts instead because honestly learning magic sounds a lot more fun." Justin spoke at about a hundred miles an hour, looking so earnest and eager that Hermione giggled. He glanced at her and she went red.

"I'm sorry! I don't want to offend you, I just…" Hermione trailed off and looked around for help. Ernie stepped in admirably.

"You were very fast and I don't think we all caught everything you were saying."

Food suddenly appeared in front of them and they jumped slightly, unaware that the Sorting had finished.

"It seemed like we didn't get Harry Potter after all…" Susan Bones mused, glancing over at the Gryffindor table.

"It's not a competition." Hermione observed, helping herself to some chicken. Beside her, Hannah chuckled and picked out some rather lovely meat pie.

"No, but the Boy-Who-Lived would very effectively quash any doubts about Hufflepuff. Our reputation isn't the best." She replied. Ernie snorted.

"Reputation is all very well, but I'd prefer to be loyal and hardworking than be a showoff like Gryffindor."

An older year leant down the table.

"Well said, firstie!" he said, to nods from his friends. "Welcome to Hufflepuff! I'm Cedric Diggory."

"Are you a Prefect?" Hermione asked, looking at him curiously. Cedric burst into laughter, rapidly followed by his friends.

"No! I'm in my third year here. We 'Puffs just like to welcome everyone to our House. You'll find that we're a lovely group of people."

And when all of Cedric's friends and some older years nodded in agreement, Hermione finally felt the last shred of fear slide away from her.

* * *

That evening, in her dormitory which she shared with Hannah, Susan and Megan, Hermione folded and unfolded her Hufflepuff scarf, as she sat cross-legged on her bed, watching as it caught the candlelight. The yellow stood out in stark contrast, and she remembered her father telling her that any animal with red or yellow on it was potentially very dangerous. Hermione rather liked to think that Hufflepuff held hidden strength.

"It's rather beautiful, isn't it?" Susan asked, sitting down on the end of Hermione's bed. Hermione started, then smiled.

"I thought I'd be in Ravenclaw." She answered, trusting the other girl not to take her words offensively. Susan tilted her head to the side, and opened her mouth, but it was Hannah, who was sitting in the bed next to Hermione's, who replied.

"Ravenclaw may be the cleverest house, but I'd rather have friends than not." Hannah slid off her bed and sat next to Hermione. "The Hat takes your wishes into consideration, and it obviously thought that you would accomplish more in Hufflepuff, with us, than you ever would in Ravenclaw."

"I'm happy I'm here."

"Well, that's wonderful." Megan said in an upbeat voice, coming out from the bathroom and wringing her wet hair. "I'm glad you're here." She wrapped a towel around her head and made her way over to Hermione's bed, which seemed to be the gathering place that evening. "I have an idea."

Hannah, Hermione and Susan looked over at Megan in interest. The rather bubbly eleven-year-old sat cross-legged right opposite Hermione and held out her two hands. Looking confused, Hannah and Susan put their hands in Megan's and held out their other hand for Hermione, who hesitantly put hers into the palm of the two other girls.

"We're going to be here for the next seven years and I would rather like that we all get on with each other." Megan smiled. "I want us all to promise to stand by each other, to be there for each other and to promise to be there for each other at any time of day – or night."

There was a pause in the dormitory for a long moment, and to Hermione's surprise, it was her who spoke up.

"I can make a promise like that." She then took a deep breath. "And I can promise something else. We may not be Gryffindor, but I promise to hunt down anybody who dares make a move against any of us, or any other 'Puffs."

Hannah and Susan squeezed Hermione's hand and nodded in acceptance of the promise.

In that very moment, Hermione Granger had never felt more at home. As she glanced down at the yellow and black striped scarf still lying on her bed, her last thought before turning to the conversation now happening around her was, _Hidden strength indeed_.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _And so ends Hufflepuff! Hermione. I actually really enjoyed writing that._


End file.
